


A Promise

by Mister_Spock



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 15:30:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16835431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mister_Spock/pseuds/Mister_Spock
Summary: McCoy gets a late night call for help.





	A Promise

Three years into a five-year mission and the probability that the next 12 months would involve them stationed at Yorktown seemed very likely. The crew had been given rooms at a local hotel but would soon be relocated to living quarters meant for Starfleet cadets. 

The hotel was nice but it was still a hotel and even though they'd be in dorm rooms soon, it would at least be more private for them. 

McCoy grinned to himself as he thought about how Jim seemed to amass a following whenever he went out. He didn't really enjoy the attention, but Kirk was a naturally warm and friendly person so he made time for people that were interested in what the crew had done. He always spent time talking about what a joint effort it was by the crew, praising those who were so often overlooked in such matters.   
It just made people admire Kirk more. 'He's so humble,' McCoy had heard someone say and hadn't stopped mocking Jim about it since. 

They'd been at Yorktown a matter of days and Jim had messaged the most senior members of the crew to a meeting the next morning. Jim would update them all on the progress of the ship for them to meet up with their departments and update them.   
Bones had dinner with Jim and then evening and that's when Jim had told him how long they anticipated the building of the Enterprise would be. Kirk also said Starfleet wouldn't want the whole crew staying on at Yorktown indefinitely while they waited and he expected them to be split up. 

McCoy was considering having a relatively early night when he received a message on his personal PADD. He assumed it would be from Jim but took a quick look anyway and was surprised to see Spock's name displayed instead. He opened it to see a letter as formal as he would expect from Spock. 

'Doctor McCoy,   
It is imperative that I see you prior to the staff meeting tomorrow morning.'

Spock's message was urgent enough that McCoy felt a pang of fear in him. He grabbed his medical kit and headed to see Spock, typing out a quick reply. 

When Spock let him in, he was somewhat surprised that the Vulcan wasn't hunched over in pain and covered in blood. Relieved, but surprised. “So what's so urgent you had to drag me here this time of night?” McCoy asked, dropping his kit on the nearest table.

Spock loitered by the door before turning fully towards McCoy. One eye swollen shut and heavily bruised, another dark bruise on his jaw and various badly wiped away bleeding wounds. McCoy realised he's been so busy looking at where Spock's injury from Altamid had been, he hadn't bothered to look at Spock's face when he entered. 

“What the hell happened to you?” McCoy asked. “If this was some xenophobic attack-” McCoy started. 

“It was not. My injuries are my own doing.” 

“You did this to yourself?” 

“No. My own fault,” Spock sighed. “I will explain but I need you to heal these wounds before tomorrow's meeting.” 

“Fine,” the doctor said and he grabbed the appropriate tools. The best thing would be for him to heal the inner tissue first, clear up the bleeding and then heal the skin. He started by just wiping away the blood so he could see what would take the most healing. “So go on then, tell me what happened.” 

Spock let out a deep breath. In a human, McCoy would have called it a sigh, but he'd debated with Spock enough to know that Spock didn't consider a length exhalation the same as a sigh.   
“Lieutenant Uhura and I had met for lunch today. We are still trying to work on our relationship and what steps we should take to further it to each of our best interests. Apparently, children are not on her agenda any time soon, not that I had even made the suggestion.” 

“Well, she must have got that idea from somewhere, right?”

“We were discussing children. And our future. It was going fine.”

“And then you said what exactly?” McCoy said. 

“Well, when she displayed a lack of interest in having children, I was supportive and agreed that relatively speaking, a Vulcan would generally wait longer, another 10 to 20 years to reproduce. It is merely the decimation of our species that is driving us to mate.” 

“That's so romantic.” McCoy scoffed. 

Spock ignored McCoy. “She was not upset by that. She was upset when I mentioned that it would be better for us not to wait for when she feels ready because her body was in the optimal condition for rearing a child at her current age.”

“Oh wow, you actually said that out loud? Did Uhura do this?” 

“She picked a few human phrases I have not heard before but that I know are undesirable.” 

“Okay, so that happened which doesn't explain how this happened,” McCoy said, indicated to Spock's face. 

“While I pondered over where I misspoke-”

“Really, you still don't get it?” McCoy interrupted, but Spock continued. 

“I received a video message and then a written message from Nyota. The video was a lot like our conversation with undesirable words. Sometime after that, she sent a comm explaining how I had hurt her in a way that I was able to understand.” 

“You.... you didn't really do this to yourself, did you?” 

Spock sighed. It was a sigh this time no matter what he said. “I felt some terrible that I needed to get some fresh air. And then while I was out, I passed by many of the drinking establishments. I recalled the frequency with which Jim used to return from one in a worse state than when he left.”

“Oh Spock, you didn't start a fight, did you?”

“No. I actually used inspiration from you, Doctor.”

“This is going to be awful-” 

“I thought back to some of our earlier interactions. I just went with some of the things that annoyed you the most. I found some intoxicated humans and just goaded them. It was incredibly simple.” 

McCoy looked at Spock's hands. “You didn't fight back.”

“They were drunk and I coerced them into hitting me. It would hardly be fair.”

“So did you feel any better?”

“No, I just felt a sense of guilt when the humans were thrown out of the bar. When I came back here and saw Jim's message about the meeting I knew I could not attend like this.” 

“You know, I should have made you. Try explaining that to everyone.” 

“Maybe a worthy punishment for myself. But it would have upset Nyota, and she does not deserve that.” 

“So what are you going to do about Uhura?”

“Talk, I expect. Maybe after the meeting tomorrow.” 

“Yeah, I think you two should. Okay, all done here. You look good as new.” 

“Thank you for your assistance doctor.”

“Just doing my job.”

“More than just your job. I am grateful for your friendship.” 

“Just don't put yourself in a position like that again, okay?”

“I promise.”


End file.
